Reisterstown is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in Baltimore and Carroll counties,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,968. Founded by German immigrant John Reister in 1758, Reisterstown is located to the northwest of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. Though it is older than the surrounding areas, it now serves primarily as a residential suburb of Baltimore. The center is designated the Reisterstown Historic District and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. Also listed are the Montrose Mansion and Chapel and St. Michael's Church. Just outside the community, to its north, is the small military reservation of Camp Fretterd, which serves as a training site for the Maryland Army National Guard and Air Guard. The

Maryland Defense Force The Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) is the state defense force for the state of Maryland. The MDDF is organized as a state military reserve organization organized parallel to the Maryland National Guard and is designed to augment the National Guard ...

is also headquartered at Camp Fretterd.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Reisterstown CDP occupies , all land. The community stretches along Reisterstown Road (

Maryland Route 140 Maryland Route 140 (MD 140) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from U.S. Route 1 in Maryland, U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and U.S. Route 40 Truck (Baltimore, Maryland), US 40 Truck in Baltimore northwest to the Pennsylvan ...

) and the Northwestern Expressway ( Interstate 795) just north of

Owings Mills Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus o ...

. Its northern boundary lies near the junction of MD-140 and

Hanover Pike Maryland Route 30 (MD 30) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Hanover Pike, the highway runs from Maryland Route 140, MD 140 in Reisterstown, Maryland, Reisterstown north to the Pennsylvania state ...

(MD-30), which heads north towards

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. MD-140 passes the northern end of I-795 and continues northwest as Westminster Pike, heading towards Finksburg and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. The community of Glyndon is located adjacent to the northern portion of Reisterstown along Butler Road ( MD-128), which connects Reisterstown with the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (

Interstate 83 Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway located in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; its ...

). To the east of Reisterstown is the community of Worthington, located around

Greenspring Avenue Greenspring Avenue is a road in Baltimore, Maryland and its northwestern suburbs. At one time, Greenspring Avenue was Maryland Route 519 from Maryland Route 128, Worthington Road to Dover Road (Reisterstown), Dover Road, but the road has since b ...

and Park Heights Avenue ( MD-129). To the west of Reisterstown is Liberty Reservoir.

History

Reister's Town

John Reister purchased a tract of land, which he called "Reister's Desire", along the Conewago Road on March 2, 1758. He built a

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

on the site, providing food, drink and lodging for travelers. Other businesses serving travelers soon followed, creating the settlement known as Reister's Town, and eventually Reisterstown. With the purchase in 1763 of another adjoining the original property, Reister began developing both sides of Conewago Road, later renamed Reisterstown Road.

Franklin Academy

In 1764, John Reister purchased a three-quarter acre lot, which he named Church Hill, as a site for the community's first church, a small building constructed of logs. Funded and built by the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

community, the church was free to all denominations. The building also served as a school house, a secondary function typical of churches at that time. The town raised money with a public subscription and replaced the log building with a brick school building in 1824, named Franklin Academy in honor of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

. A

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

was added to the school in 1826. Franklin Academy became the first public high school in the county in 1874 and one of the earliest schools to join the Baltimore County school system. The former Franklin Academy was converted into a public library in the early 1900s. It still stands beside the Reisterstown Community Cemetery, across the street from the present-day Franklin Middle School. Franklin Academy's cupola, known as the Franklin Bell, is in front of Franklin High School.

Demographics

The

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010 reported that there were 25,968 people and 6,740 families residing in the Reisterstown

(CDP), living in 10,133 of available housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 57.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 29.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 6.3% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.7% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 8.9% of the population. Of the community's 10,133 households, 33.0% had children under 18 years, 44.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. Individuals living alone occupied 81.2% of the non-family households; 30.4% of these individuals were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.07. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 20, 6.5% from 20 to 25, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. In the 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the median income for a household in the CDP was $60,201, and the median income for a family was $65,911. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $72,714. About 11.6% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 6.6%% of those age 65 or over. As of July, 2019, Reisterstown has become a

majority minority A majority-minority or minority-majority area is a term used to refer to a subdivision in which one or more racial, ethnic, and/or religious minorities (relative to the whole country's population) make up a majority of the local population. Ter ...

community. Non-Hispanic

whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

are a plurality, constituting 45% of the population.

Education

Public schools

* Elementary: Franklin, Cedarmere, Glyndon, Reisterstown, Timber Grove, and Chatsworth. All are grades K–5. Franklin, Cedarmere, Glyndon, and Reisterstown also provide

preschool education A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

. * Middle: Franklin (Grades 6–8) * High:

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

(Grades 9–12)

Private schools

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet, and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at ...

School (Grades 9–12) * Sacred Heart Parochial School (Grades K–8 and preschool)

Transportation

Roads

Major roads in the Reisterstown area include: * Butler Road (MD-128) * Cockeys Mill Road * Central Avenue * Deer Park Road * Dover Road * Franklin Boulevard *

(MD-30) * Ivy Mill Road * Main Street (MD-140) * Northwest Expressway (I-795), an interstate highway that connects the community to the

Baltimore Beltway Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

* Red Run Boulevard * Reisterstown Road (MD-140), the central road and the major transportation artery of the ''town'' * Sacred Heart Lane (formerly MD-127) * Westminster Pike (MD-140) * Worthington Avenue

Town recreation

The Reisterstown Area Recreation Council (RRC) organizes athletic and recreational activities for the Reisterstown area. Reisterstown has two annual festivals, organized with help from the RRC.Festivals
. Reisterstown Area Recreation Council. Retrieved 2010-08-02 * The Bloomin' ArtsFest, at the Franklin Middle School grounds, held in May * The Reisterstown Festival, at Hannah More Park, held in September

Music on Main Street

Every year the Reisterstown Main Street organizes free concerts on Friday nights through the late spring till early fall. All concerts are held at the Franklin Middle School (10 Cockeys Mill Road).

Reisterstown Farmers Market

The Reisterstown Farmers Market is held Sundays June 11 through October 29 from 9am – 1pm, rain or shine. Hosted outside Franklin Middle School at 120 Main Street, The Reisterstown Farmers Market focuses on local vendors with goods ranging from bread to produce, hand-crafted jewelry, and natural products. It is accessible from Main Street, with ample parking available at the middle school.

References

External links

* , including photo from 2006, at Maryland Historical Trust

''Portfolio Historic Architecture''. Rubeling & Associates.
Reisterstown.com
''Local Events Calendar; Shopping, Dining and Business Directory, maintained by the Reisterstown Improvement Association'' {{authority control Census-designated places in Baltimore County, Maryland Census-designated places in Maryland Populated places established in 1758 1758 establishments in Maryland